Word family noun emotion emotionalism adjective emotional ≠ unemotional emotive verb emote adverb emotionally emotively
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishemotione‧mo‧tion /ɪˈməʊʃən $ ɪˈmoʊ-/ ●●● W3 noun [countable, uncountable] FEEL HAPPY/FRIGHTENED/BORED ETCa strong human feeling such as love, hate, or anger Her voice was full of emotion.conflicting/mixed emotions Sara listened with mixed emotions. She was good at hiding her emotions. Kim received the news without showing any visible sign of emotion.COLLOCATIONSadjectivesstrong/intenseIssues such as abortion arouse strong emotions.The emotion was so intense that she spent most of the movie in tears.powerful (=having a very strong effect on someone)Grief is a very powerful emotion.deep (=strongly felt, but not always expressed)He had never revealed these deep emotions to anyone.painful (=one that is difficult to deal with)Painful emotions, stored away in the patient’s memory, can suddenly come flooding back.overwhelming (=a very strong emotion that you feel suddenly)She was filled with an overwhelming emotion of relief.a positive emotion (=love, happiness, hope etc)Try to focus on your positive emotions.a negative emotion (=anger, fear, hate etc)It’s not easy learning how to deal with negative emotions.mixed/conflicting emotions (=a mixture of very different feelings)She had mixed emotions about seeing him again.pent-up emotions (=emotions that someone feels but does not express)Crying can release pent-up emotions.great emotionShe sings with great emotion.real emotion (=very strong emotion)There was real emotion in his voice.raw emotion (=strong emotions that someone shows openly and does not control)The crowd responded to his words with raw emotion.human emotionsthe expression of human emotions through music and poetryverbsshow emotionHe didn’t show any emotion when I told him I was pregnant.express an emotion (=show or talk about)He had always found it difficult to express his emotions.feel/experience an emotionSeeing him with his new wife, she felt emotions that she did not want to feel again.hide your emotions (also conceal your emotions formal)Laura could not hide her emotions, or pretend to feel something she did not.stir up people’s emotions (=deliberately try to make people have strong feelings)His speech roused the crowd and stirred up their emotions.phrasesbe full of emotion (=showing or feeling strong emotions, especially sadness)When she spoke, Nellie’s voice was full of emotion.be overcome with emotion (=feel an emotion so strongly that you cannot behave normally)As soon as I heard that song, I was overcome with emotion.be choked with emotion (=feel so much emotion that you cannot speak normally)Mr Ford’s voice was choked with emotion as he addressed the mourners.be devoid of emotion formal (=not showing or feeling any emotion)I find his books completely devoid of emotion.a display/expression of emotion (=an emotion that is shown clearly openly)Such open displays of emotion made him feel uncomfortable.a sign of emotionHe showed no sign of emotion as the guilty verdict was read out.a hint/trace/flicker of emotion (=a very small sign that someone feels an emotion)I thought I saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes.a wave/flood/surge/rush of emotion (=a sudden very strong emotion)A great surge of emotion swept through her when she learnt that he was safe.the depth of an emotion (=how strong an emotion is)She was surprised by the depth of her emotions.lack of emotionGeorge’s apparent lack of emotion was too much to bear. Examples from the Corpus
emotion• They are more likely to be unable to register any emotion.• She stared at him, overcome by emotion.• These real and more genuine emotions will gradually take over the place of the former all. embracing negative ones.• David usually tries to hide his emotions.• It is emotion which supplies what may be termed propulsive power to thought.• Her voice was full of emotion as she spoke.• Parents feel a mixture of emotions when their first child starts school.• An individual in a certain state of mind could fix a powerful emotion to a place.• They hated the emotions they experienced: I had a person working for me who had no business being a sales rep.• Can't seem to take the emotion.• It must be restored if we are to understand the emotions at play today, with intolerance being absolutely pivotal.• I thought maybe I was just being selfish, it's so difficult to analyse your emotions.full of emotion• Many would agree but this system ignores the customers who may be full of emotions like fear and helplessness.• It was a desperate moment, full of emotion, urgent.• She did need a shower to wash away the tension from a day that had been too full of emotion.• Deep down we were full of emotion, but there was little sign of it as we settled down to our task.Origin emotion (1500-1600) French émouvoir “to cause to have strong feelings”, from Latin movere “to move” 